Does anyone know if there are shops which offer netbooks with british keyboards here in Switzerland? I live in Zurich and don't want to order from abroad.

Thanks

Unlikely. Demand is so low, stock upgrades happen so fast. No one wants to be stuck with previous generation hardware even with a Swiss keyboard, foreign keyboards will just exacerbate that.

Ordering from abroad is fine if you stick to the major hardware players such as Asus , HP , IBM, Dell and Acer. Choose one with a local store/presence and ensure that the warranty is Pan-European at least.

Thanks for the quick reply

Or just buy one with a swiss keyboard and buy a bag of stickers to put over the keys! Prices are cheaper here anyway. Get creative!
You'll end up with a _very_ individual netbook and you won't have to faff about with the electrical adapters either!

This has been discussed before. Search the forum.

I have searched. I've been around this forum long enough to know that that's the first thing to do before posting anything, but you must admit that sometimes the search option does not give as specific results as wished for. If you're familiar with the thread, a link to it would be great.

Thanks

Agreed. I remember replying this conversation a while back though. Anyway, if you're buying Apple, then they do foreign layouts. Ask in store. Other companies may do, but best to call. You may find it easier to get a laptop with a US layouts but then there's no £ sign and the return key is annoyingly small. Another alternative is to buy a laptop and replace keyboard yourself (or with help of an "expert"). Keyboards for many laptops can be found on ebay. If you are buying from abroad (e.g. UK) then you shouldn't have to pay VAT in the country of purchase (may be best to have it shipped to avoid that, and of course speak to them prior to ensure they don't add VAT in the first place). You will then just pay Swiss VAT on import. Power cables for laptops are quite standard (between the wall and the PSU that is--usually a cloverleaf type connection on the PSU side). If you work for a corporate company, they may have some spares lying around.

Learn to type on a Swiss keyboard. That's what I've done. And I can switch to a UK layout quite easily. It's just like switching sides when driving a UK or European car - you soon get the hang of if. It'll give you more choice.

I have a Swiss keyboard but have it set to a UK layout in Windows. However you need to know where they keys are!

Can be mastered and memorised within a couple of hours max. This methods works fine for me using a CH keyboard and switching to EN as and when required, or even permanently at some machines.

Last time I checked, Apple doesn't make netboooks.

But netbook keyboards are much harder to get hold of.

Except that most netbooks have the transformers built into the wall plug, so there isn't a separate PSU and you can't just replace the cable.

Samsung do, they even had ones in Interdiscount with QWERTY style keyboard (well that was last year anyway).

A USB keyboard is will work for both surely ?

True, but then there wouldn't be much point in buying a netbook (to be able to carry it around and use it on trains and stuff) if it needed an separate keyboard

Thanks for the tip, I'll check...

I agree that I would get used to it, but I'd be changing from German to English keyboard on a daily basis, and that could be a bit of a pain, at least for me....

Oh! didn't know that could be done..

ha,ha trust me...the world is a much better place without me trying to drive on the right...but then again, I'm a woman (I said it before anyone else does)

Asus eee PC doesn't. Keyboard is easy to replace as well (I know, I've done it).

Wow. It's like teacher's corrections. Sorry for trying to help! You've guessed it, the netbook thing went over my head and I was thinking laptops.